


Two+1

by VNVdarkangel



Series: Love Live Mesh Music AU [2]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: AU, Alternate Character Interpretation, F/F, Inspired by Music, Non-Explicit Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-23 06:08:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 5,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21315433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VNVdarkangel/pseuds/VNVdarkangel
Summary: Epilogue to Looking SkywardA telling of what happened in the two months between Maki and Umi meeting Nico and the triangles solution.This is a LL AU inspired by the music of British group 'mesh'.BE AWARE: Depiction of intimacy in the chapter "only better" gives this fic a M-rating.
Relationships: Nishikino Maki/Yazawa Nico, Sonoda Umi/Yazawa Nico
Series: Love Live Mesh Music AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1536526
Kudos: 7





	1. No place like home

**Author's Note:**

> After I finished "Looking Skyward" I got a few comments and questions on the two month time gap at the end of the story. So.. here is the story about those two months. 
> 
> As it is as is now, much longer than the original, I'll be splitting it into chapters.

_ “Princess.” Nico pressed a key into her hand and whispered. “This is to the flat on top of the bar. Don’t worry, nobody is there or will be coming and it’s clean. I know you care for your friend, but I don’t think you want to be home tonight. Nico knows these things. Come home tomorrow _ _ noonish _ _ . She’ll understand. Trust Nico!” _

Sunlight shone through an uncovered window onto a pile of fabric crowding an armchair. It fell onto a face with red hair. The face grunted and tried to turn away from the light. Maki Nishikino didn’t like mornings. She really didn’t like mornings. She managed to turn away her face from the light, but the ambient light of the room started to become brighter and under the blanket she was under it was getting unbearably hot. 

“Fine... fine!”, she said to no one and untangled herself from the blanket and the somewhat odd position she had on the chair and got up. Her muscles hurt. She looked at her phone: 11am. Nico had said that she should be home around noon, so she had anywhere from half to an hour to kill. 

As she had come up to, what she assumed to be Nico’s flat, last night after she had watched Umi and Nico, unsteadily walking into the night, she’d looked for a guest room and found none. The flat was small, just a kitchen, a bathroom and a big room that served as a combined bed- and living room. True to her word it was clean. Embarrassingly so when compared to her and Umi’s flat where the chores of cleaning were postponed when living and/or working there became next to impossible. Not that they lived a messy life, just music took such a large part of their time that having a cleaning day never happened, just occasional manic outbursts when things got out of hand. But Nico’s place was clean. Maki had considered to sleep in the bed, but after lying down in it, having the small of Nico, pure without the added olfactory haze of the bar, had made Maki feel ill at ease. As if she was intruding somewhere on something that was not hers to experience, so she had settled for the armchair opposite the bend. She had found a blanket, most likely completely new and unused, since it smelled of plastic, bunkered down for the night, finally finding a position that allowed her to fall asleep. 

With the morning painting the walls of the flat, Maki was finally able what at night had looked like a patchwork of colours and shapes through her slightly drunk eyes. They were gig-posters. Some from bigger bands, with signatures sprawled on them, but most were from the smaller electro- and singer-songwriter scene around the town and county. They had messages like “Thanks for the awesome work!”, “Let’s do this together again!” and “Thank you for all your help.” on them. There were also a few posters from gigs that she and Umi had played, but nothing was written on them. So that was how she had known, how she knew the scene as she had said. 

Maki sensed some pride in that their little band was here, amongst their peers and larger groups. “For how long…”, she mumbled as she walked into the little kitchen. 

She wouldn’t dare to cook anything, last time it had ended with repainting the ceiling and the need to buy a new table for their kitchen, so she was relieved when she saw a capsule coffee maker on the workbench. Checking the water tank and the capsules, she managed to make herself a, somewhat descent, mug of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table. What should she do? Should she just go home? She had no desire to run into Umi or worse, Nico, in less than passable attire, but staying here didn’t feel like an option either. 

As Maki slowly sipped the coffee, she considered her other options. She wasn’t a big shopper so that wouldn’t keep her occupied, besides, she didn’t need anything and buying anything apart from essentials and music gear wasn’t her thing, so that was out. 

The level in the coffee mug steadily decreased until she had drunk it all, but she had still no idea on how to pass the time. She looked at her phone again: 11:20am. Home was 10 minutes away, 15 if she walked really slowly. She might as well. She opened the messaging app: 

** me **: You awake? 

The answer came almost directly. 

**Umi**: Yes. We have been up for a few hours. I’m sorry for me behaviour last night. I did not mean to exile you from your own home. 

** me **: I understand. It’s fine. 

** Umi **: Are you on your way? 

** me **: Not yet. I wanted to check if you were up first. 

** Umi **: I see. 

** Umi **: Then come home. We need to talk to you. 

We? 

** me **: As you and Nico? 

** Umi **: Yes. 

She felt a pang of something. Why did she feel like this, she just met Nico for the first time yesterday… 

** me **: Fine. I’m on my way. 

Maki double-checked the door so that it was securely locked before she pocketed the key and left Nico’s flat. She tried to get her feelings in order, too many, too weird things had been happening over a too short amount of time. 

‘_ We need to talk to you _.’ What did that mean? They were an item? They had broken something of Maki’s? Umi was moving out? Nico was moving in? Too many thoughts crowded her head so she leapt back to thinking about Nico’s flat. It had been inviting, warm and cosy, but had she felt like an intruder? Seeing something that she was not meant to know. With those thoughts, Maki treaded her way home. 

As Maki turned the key to their flat door, she heard someone approaching from the other side. The door was swiftly opened and Nico looked at her expectantly. 

“Excellent timing.” And she backed away, leaving Maki space to enter. 

“You know how long I’d take to get here from your place, so this can be hardly surprising”, Maki bit back. 

“You got coffee this morning? Nico can…” 

“I did.”, Maki exhaled, “I’ll pay you back for it later.” 

“Think nothing of it. Nico has good coffee at home. I can also brew it fresh if you like it that way.” 

Maki had now taken of her coat and sneakers. Umi came through the hallway. She looked like she hadn’t slept much, but had rested more fully than sleep could ever provide. She embraced her friend. 

“Let’s sit.” 

Their living room was occupied with Nico and Umi sitting in the sofa and Maki in her usual chair. 

Umi and Nico looked at each other, Nico giving Umi’s hand an almost imperceptible squeeze of encouragement. 

Umi looked Maki square in the eye. 

“I never thought I’d the one in such a shameless relationship, but... here I am.”, she said quietly. 

She took a deep breath. 

“Nico and I will be seeing each other from now on. We’ve established a liaison that will work out well for both of us, providing mental and physical comfort, while maintaining a respectful distance to what you and I are trying to accomplish Maki. Nico has said she can provide support in that if we ask for it, but she but butt into our affairs…” 

“Too much. Nico cares so she will keep her eyes open.” 

“…as I was saying: this should not influence…” 

“I get it Umi.”, Maki said slightly annoyed. She Umi well enough to know that she would not endanger the friendship they had. “So… I just got to ask: are you two a couple now?” 

Umi and Nico looked at each other. 

“As I said, we have established a …”, Umi reiterated, but Nico cut her off. 

“No, we’re not. We’re more than friends, perhaps lovers, but we’re not girlfriends in the romantic sense. Good enough, princess?” 

“Stop calling me that! And yes.”, Maki looked away. 

“Now, if we’re done.”, she stood up, “I need to get myself cleaned up and rest for a bit, my back is killing me.” She headed toward the bathroom. 

Nico looked surprised. 

“Was Nico’s bed not comfortable?”. She shot the question to the receding form of Maki. 

“Didn’t use it.”, and Maki shut the door to the bathroom breathing out as silently as she could as she slowly sank to the floor, drained. What was going on with her? She heard Umi saying something to Nico, but it was too far removed to hear clearly. 

_I need a bath_, Maki thought as her mind switched over to automatic, leaving her thoughts to faceless static of routine. 

“She hates me.”, Nico said to Umi, still sitting in the living room, looking down the hall. 

“Give her time. She’s very protective, she’ll come around. But she is reacting a bit outside of what I would expect.” 

“Will you talk to her?” 

“No. She won’t tell me. I know that much.” 

Nico turned back to Umi. She was still and her eyes had the caring warmth of a kind soul flowing from her. But there was something else, a vulnerability of losing herself to despair again. Nico was needed. 

“She’ll be alright, Nico. Don’t worry about it.” 

Nico looked back into the hallway and thought, _ I__t _ _ won’t be _. 


	2. Hold It Together

She heard the front door open and close as she soaked in the bathtub, relaxing her body. All that time, she’d had one thought running around her head: _This won’t work._

She’d known Nico for less than 24 hours and already Nico had inserted her girlish, but so cute, raven black pigtails into Maki's life. 

Her stable, peaceful life. 

Sure, they didn’t have to worry about money, so the part-time jobs they had were mostly for routine and networking with the only more chaotic events in their lives being the shows they played. How would they be able to integrate Nico into all of this, for Maki guessed that she’d be around. 

She lowered her head partly underwater and screamed. Why was Nico so hard to ignore? Bubbles burst on the surface of the water, her scream obscured. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the classic submerge and scream scene. Can't be without it.


	3. Friends like these

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rift starts to form.

“Maki?“ 

The redhead looked up from her morning coffee. 

“Mmh? “, Maki’s voice was barely more than a grunt. 

“It bothers you, doesn’t it?” Umi expressed a statement more than a question. 

“It doesn’t matter to me.“, Maki lied. She didn’t know why. 

“Maki...” 

“I said it doesn’t matter. It’s fine.” 

_ You always were a terrible liar _, Umi thought. 

“I apologize for bringing it up.” 

“It’s fine.” 

Breakfast continued in silence for a few moments. 

“Nico is coming over later.”, Umi tried to start a conversation, “we’re going to watch a movie. Please join us. She’ll stay the night.” 

“I think I’ll try to compose some in my room.”, came the deadpan reply, ”I’ll use my headphones so I don’t disturb you.” 

“We won’t be noisy. Nothing… like that is going to go on tonight.” 

“Geez Umi.. I didn’t need to know that… with her. You’re… together... I’ll keep out of the way, besides, I have to work tomorrow.” 

“In the afternoon!” 

“Well, yes. I need to sleep. Sleeping in Nico’s chair wasn’t very comfortable, so I’m behind.” 

Umi sighed. Maki was twirling her hair and gulped the rest of her coffee and stood up. 

“Let’s get some work done, ok Umi?”, and headed toward the living room. 

_ Why won’t you tell me _ _ ? _, Umi thought as she finished up and joined Maki for an afternoon of writing. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...


	4. What does it cost you?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maki is having problems focusing on her work.

Maki was good at her job, very good. Just not today. 

As the resident expert on all things from Nishikino, Maki had been godsent to the small instrument and music shop. As one day a redhead with a black hoodie and ditto beany had entered the shop asking about a part-time job the owner had been sceptical. Her was a girl that clearly didn’t want to be noticed, talking in very clipped sentences, with a visible distaste for the situation, asking to get a job servicing their entire selection of Nishikino instruments for next to nothing and claiming to be an expert on the brand, no matter what the instrument type it was. 

At this the owner had laughed and given her a challenge: He had a piece of equipment that had come in a few days ago that he was going to send to be serviced. If she could figure out the problem and repair it, given the availability of parts he had, he’d hire her. If the parts had to be ordered, the challenge would be open till they arrived. 

She had accepted and asked that when, not if, she got the job that she’d be under the radar. At the owners look she’d said that when she told him her last name, he’d understand. 

Believing he had nothing to lose, he had accepted the condition. 

One hour later she’d come out of the repair workshop with the offending instrument, had connected it up and played a few bars. She had explained that the fault was a known manufacturing error in the second series of the model and that the fix was a simple bypass. 

He had inspected the instrument for cosmetic defects and was impressed that some of the marks he’d seen had gone. So she had repaired and cleaned it up. He was impressed. 

“Ok, you got the job.”, he’d said, “Now would you tell me what it going on? What should I call you?” 

“I guess Maki is fine.”, she had answered, ”As for why I want to be hidden… My full name I Maki Nishikino.” 

The same name, and a very unusual name at that. 

“You mean to say that…”, the owner had started saying. 

“Yes. To be clear, I’m not a runaway. I just want to live without the legacy, at least for a while.” 

The owner had studied her and made his decision. 

“I’ll keep you off the books and pay you weekly. Luckily, I can write the expense in a way that the authorities will not notice and is above board. Also I won’t use your last name. But of someone asks for you by full name, I will tell them. I will not lie for you.” 

He had extended his hand. 

“Deal?” 

Maki hadn’t hesitated. She’d grabbed and shaken his hand. 

“Deal.” 

That had been a about a year ago. 

Today however, she wasn’t good at her job. She’d analysed the same circuit in a mixing console at least eleven times, and each time lost her train of thought. 

“Get out of my head!”, she said, not thinking. 

“Excuse me?”, the owner replied. 

“Bwuahh!”, Maki shrieked, almost falling out of her chair. 

“You ok?” 

“It’s fine, it’s nothing.”, she replied, red dusting her cheeks. 

“Like hell it is.”, he smiled, “Look, take the rest of the shift off. You need to get your head sorted.” 

“No, I’m fine... I just need to occupy it with something else, besides, I need this.” 

“What you need is to get your head examined. I know you won’t talk to me, but maybe your flatmate? Unless you’re at odds with her?” 

“With Umi? ‘Course not...” 

He sighed and started to walk out of the workshop. 

“There is a bookshop a few streets down that has a tarot reader, she tends to set me straight when I need a push. Just say you work here and she’ll understand.” 

Maki turned towards the exit. 

“Did you tell her?” 

He stopped. 

“About you? Didn’t have to, she already knew. Just some friendly advice.” 

He moved out of sight. Maki looked at the empty doorframe. A tarot reader. Now that didn’t fit in her ordered universe. But she had liked that sort of thing when she was small, when she’d been allowed to be a child, before... that. She let out the air in her lungs, taking a deep breath. 

_ I might as well check it out. Might give me inspiration _, she thought and started to pack up her things. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like in most LL AU, the Nishikino name does need to have something weight in the world. Here it is a brand of instruments and studio equipment.


	5. self healing lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maki meets the mysterious Nozomi, the tarot-reader her boss mentioned. And she knows too much.

The small shop looked like any other new-age shop she’d seen in her travels; stuffed with books, semi-precious stones and crystals, incense packs, water drippers and of course dust. It did however give off a different vibe than she usually associated with these kinds of shops... it didn’t fell as  _ fake _ as the others she’d seen.

She stood outside, holding the door handle. She hesitated. 

_ Why am I doing this? _ , she wondered.  _ Well yes, I’m curious, that’s it.  _ She pushed down the handle and let herself into the shop.

Closing the door, she could really appreciate the smell: leather bindings and old books. She’d always like the smell of old books, the musty presence that meant knowledge was stored here. It was... comforting. She took of her cap.

“Good afternoon Princess”, a voice said from the inside of the shop, “I was wondering what kept you.”

Maki looked around; she didn’t see anyone. Making her way through the shelves, she found the probable owner of the voice, sitting, with her back to Maki, at a desk, engaged in making a dream catcher.

“Excuse me?”, said Maki, uncertain if the other person had noticed her.

“I’ll be right with you. You know, you could just have come in directly.”, the woman said casually

_ Huh?, what was she talking about _ , thought Maki.  _ Ahh _ _ right, I didn’t go in directly.. Hey … wait... _ _ ahh _ _ .. She probably has some  _ _ cctv _ _ monitors back there. _

“And no, I don’t have any monitors back here. Call it a gift.”, the woman chuckled.

While Maki’s confusion mounted, the woman put the final touches on a set of feathers, put the dream catcher down and rotated her chair to face Maki.

The most intense turquoise eyes Maki had ever seen regarded her while the women's face wore a warm smile.

“Excuse me...”, Maki managed to say, trying to counter the intensity if those turquoise eyes, “but why did you call me princess?”

“I did, didn’t I... oh my. Now that was not proper, I should introduce myself first, I mean, how would you address me if you don’t know my name?”

_ How indeed _ , thought Maki.

“My name is Nozomi Toujo, I’m very pleased to finally meet you Miss Maki Nishikino, or should I call you Red Princess, the famous musician and heir?”

Maki gaped, she didn’t usually loose her cool, somewhat distant façade, but she’d been unprepared for the verbal barrage that this  Toujo had fired at her.

“How... How...”, she stuttered, uncertain of what to say.

“How I know?”,  Nozomi asked, giggling, “This is how.”

She took a pack of large cards from the shelf next to her and quick as lightning put down a set on the table.

“These tell me. And I keep my eyes and ears open of course too.”, she took a breath, “but with you it’s a special case. No one here talks about you. Well not you, just the persona of the mysterious session musician with the red hair and intense way. The one that hides under a cap when she’s out and about, hoping not to the recognized or seen.”

Maki was speechless. Who was this person, how did she know? Or did she, it could be just a psychological trick. It had to be. Her parents must have placed her here to spy on her.

“And no, before you ask, it is not a trick and I’m not sent by your parents.”,  Nozomi answered the unasked question.”, she collected the cards on the table, shuffled the deck and held it out to Maki.

“Take out two cards from anywhere, I won’t even look if you like, and then place them here on the counter. The first will be you, the second will be me. They’ll face you.”,  Nozomi said.

Maki, took the deck, turned around and took two cards from different places in the deck. Putting down the deck and then flipping the cards she’d taken onto the counter.

The first had the title  _ The Lovers _ , but it looked out of place, the second bore the title  _ The High Priestess _ . 

“ _ The Lovers _ is upside down. That is you. You’re frustrated. There is someone you long for that you can’t have. Yet.”

Nozomi paused.

“She’s been on your mind all day, hasn’t she?”

_ How..? _ , Maki thought, frustrated at herself for not being more in control.  _ How can she know? _

_ “ _ And this is me. It means that I have knowledge and wisdom to give you, should you accept it. It’s a little embarrassing actually that you took this one.”

Maki was still looking at her card, cheeks deepening their red hue and her ears joining in.

“Who... how... what...”, was all she managed to say.

Nozomi’s eyes bored into hers. 

“Will you talk to me? Or will you listen? I can’t make you either way.”, said  Nozomi , carefully eying Maki.

She took the two cards, put them back in the deck, reshuffled and started to draw a spread, all while Maki silently looked on. After each card that  Nozomi played out, she paused, regarded the card and mumbled either a  _ interesting _ or  _ ahh _ _ I see _ . After five cards, Maki was at her limit.

“Fine, I’ll talk. Just don’t... do that...”

“Me? I wasn’t doing anything?”,  Nozomi replied with a smirk.

Ohh , so that had been the game.

“Ok, I will tell you first, then you can decide what you want to do.”

Nozomi finished playing out the cards, some upside down, some normal.

“Okay then. Let’s see what we have!”, she said.

She looked at the tarot cards, hummed for a bit, then spoke:

“You recently met someone; a woman. She has become a part of your life, but not yours. You don’t really know what you feel towards her, but you want to find out. Also, you had quite the morning that brought you to her, but it unbalanced you completely. Hmm, this makes no sense... She is in a relationship, but it is fake. I must be reading this wrong. You have seen her heart, but it left you restless. And you have a secret. A secret that no one knows.”

She looked straight at Maki: “I think I know what it is.”

“And your best friend will find out. Quite soon actually.”, she continued, “Now... where am I wrong?”

Maki stood transfixed, looking down onto the cards.

_ This can’t be right _ , she thought,  _ she must have followed me, heard from the boss, anything but this... _

As if  Nozomi had heard her thoughts: “And no, I haven't been following you, your boss hasn’t said anything I didn’t already know. In fact, we’ve never met before today.”

“Then.. How?”, Maki managed to say.

“They...”, she gestured at the cards, “talk to me for lack of a better word. That’s all there is.”

This was too much, Maki started to slowly back away from the counter, all her alert signals going off at once. She was in the headlight, now she had but one option, escape!

She stopped her backwards stumble, turned and ran. She ran past the shelves,  jancked the door open and launched herself into the street, barely avoiding a cyclist talking the day away on his phone. She thought she heard a shout of  _ MAKI! _ emanating from the shop, but it barely registered. She needed a place, a safe place. Her body, reacting on automatic from the thought, steered her towards the nearby church.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And welcome Nozomi as a, surprise, tarot-reader.


	6. Only Better

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An intimate moment

Waves upon waves of warmth spread though her body and psyche. The sensation of pleasure followed, intertwining with the warmth. The tactile sense of skin on skin and the roughness of a tongue made her reach out, stretching, searching for the collection of strands she knew was there.

Upon contact, her hands dug in, holding, pushing, pulling as the intertwining waves of ecstasy slowly consumed her will. She endured, not willing to surrender just yet, but, in the end, it was of no use. Her body arched, straining every muscle and she screamed, her cry muffled by the pillow she had rested her head on. What felt like an eternity later, her body twitching, her hands let go and fell limp to her sides.

“That was...”, she began.

“Shhh”, was the response. A finger seeking its’ way up to her lips. “Don’t speak.”

She stayed silent, gently kissing the finger pressed to her lips, relishing in the ebbing feelings of desire. The  respondee crept up to her side, head resting on her chest as her breaths steadied into a slow, heavy rhythm. 

They held each other as exhaustion slowly took them and pulled down the curtains over their eyes, sleep gently moving into their consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled with the rating on this one. It's not too graphic to be explicit, but still too much to be teen, though I'm sure most of the teens these days have this, or similar experiences already so the shock value is limited.
> 
> I do hope that I managed to convey it without the vulgarity and instead as a sensual moment between two individuals (consenting, of course. we have to be PC these days)


	7. A place to hide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maki hides away.

She sat in the darkest corner she could find, trying her hardest not to be noticed. The church felt hollow, like a room that had been misplaced, but at least it was not crowded. No one had spared her a glance when she entered and no one had said anything to her. The organist was probably playing some improvisation piece since the flow of notes didn’t really connect with the harmonies, but at least it was a comforting sound. 

She didn’t know how long she’d sat her, head bowed, hand nervously clasped trying to understand what had happened, how she knew. She’d copied the mannerisms of the people she saw, but she had no idea what she was doing. Religion wasn’t her thing after all.

Suddenly, the wood of the bench creaked, someone had sat down next to her. She was aware of some hand gestures and basic Latin phrases. Then after a few seconds, a voice spoke in hushed tones:

“You’re trying too hard.”

_ Huh? _

She slowly turned her head towards the stranger. The face she saw would not have looked out of place in a bright Santa outfit, with a real, heavy, full white beard, meticulously maintained.

She looked at him  quizzingly .

“You’ve been in that position for hours and trust me, people don’t pray that long.”, he smiled.

“I... I just needed....”, she began

“A place to hide?”, came the question.

Maki looked away and whispered: “Yes.”

Seconds passed in silence. 

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like, of course.”, the man said, “Believer of not, I don’t differentiate. And if you need to talk to someone, someone outside of your life, I’m here. Also... I’m sworn to silence, so anything you might say, stays between you and me.”, he stood up.

“I might look old, but this shepherd is quite in the times, so anything from girl-troubles to nuclear research I can handle.”, he said as he left her to her thoughts again not waiting for a response.

Maki was again alone with her thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are places with crowds where we can hide in plain sight. Most religious sites these days allow for that. Being in a room full of people that will give you the room and only come in invited.


	8. Who says

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nozomi meets Umi and Nico and gets the whole picture.

Umi awoke with a jolt. 

Nico was still asleep next to her, face obscured by her loose hair. Umi briefly thought of what they’d done before sleep overcame them and felt her face beginning to heat up, then she heard it. There was a knocking on the flat-door. 

Umi slowly got out the bed, found a robe that she tied around her body and walked toward the door. 

_ Knock, knock, knock. _

“Maki? Miss Nishikino?”, a voice called from the other side of the door. 

_ Maki? _ , Umi thought, quickly scanning the foot wear by the door, _ she isn’t here. _

She opened the door and was met by a pair of worried turquoise eyes set in a worried face. 

“You’re not Maki. Are you the friend?” 

Umi was quite taken aback by this opening and stared, not sure what to make out of the situation back at the face. The person hopped slightly at Umi’s gaze and said: 

“I’m sorry, I got ahead of myself. My name is Nozomi Toujo. Maki, I mean Miss Nishikino, was in my shop earlier today, but something I said probably startled her so she ran out in a panic. I wanted to ask what was wrong and apologize to her if I caused her distress.” 

Umi was confused, she was certain this person did not work in the music shop where Maki was employed. 

“Maki isn’t here. I frankly do not know her current whereabouts. Did you try... Oh wait. Of course, you would not have her number.” 

“Anyway, I’m sorry to have disturbed you, please give her this card”, Nozomi held out a business card, “when she comes back.” 

“Ok, I...”, Umi began to reply until she was interrupted by another voice from the other end of the hallway. 

“Everything all right Umi?” 

Nico came up to them, dressed in one of Umi’s night shirts. It almost reached to her knees. 

“Ohh”, sputtered Nozomi, “so you’re _ her _. I see.” 

“What now? Nico is confused”, said Nico looking from Umi to Nozomi and back. 

“Never mind”, Nozomi quickly recovered, “I’m sorry to have disturbed you both. I’ll be going now. Please make sure she gets the card. Bye.”. Her last word was said with a smirk. Somehow it made Umi and Nico very uncomfortable as they watched the woman descend the stairs. 

Nozomi took a deep breath as she closed the door onto the street behind her. 

_ So that was the friend, and the one that’s on Maki’s mind. Interesting. _, she thought. 

In the flat, Umi looked at the card she’d been given: “_Let the cards help you along; __Nozomi_ _Toujo__ \- Tarot Reader; Bright Star Bookstore_” and an address in the shopping area of town. She lowered the card, then lifted it up to her eyes again. 

_ Tarot Reader? What had Maki gotten up to? No matter. _, she thought as she walked through the flat to Maki’s door and wedged the card into the door frame. She heard sounds of cupboards being opened and drawers pulled. 

_ NIco _ _ is probably finishing her check of the kitchen, but didn’t she do that this morning? _, Umi wondered as she walked towards the commotion. 


	9. What are you scared of?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maki begins to formulate a plan.

Darkness has settled over the streets when Maki unlocked and opened the door to their flat. Checking the shoes in the hallway she breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing that shouldn’t be here, so no Nico. Why did that make her relieved? Was if the thought of those intense crimson eyes not staring at her, trying to size her up, or was it that there would be quiet night? Though she hadn’t wanted to hear anything anyway. They were adults, and so was she. This is normal.

She tiptoed to the kitchen, the diet of coffee and no real food had left her feeling very hungry. Even the sandwich that the priest had offered her hadn’t helped. She opened the fridge and was met by a plate, probably dinner, neatly  cellophaned and with a small piece of paper resting against it:

_ Heat for 3 minutes on high. - Nico _

_ So, she’s been here. But she isn’t now. _ Maki’s hunger tore through her hesitation and she grabbed the plate, ripped off the cellophane and put it in the microwave. Careful not to cause too much noise she poured herself a glass of tomato juice and waited for the food to heat.

I had only been two days and she already felt drained from trying to avoid Nico. She had to find... something... that kept her away naturally without being obvious and without hurting  Umi ... and Nico... why was she still thinking about Nico? She’d barely met her and she plagued Maki’s mind to no end... why?

The ping from the microwave interrupted her thoughts and she wolfed down the meal. 

It was delicious. 

The business card landed on the floor outside of Maki’s door as she went to bed. She’d been too tired to notice it.


	10. Petrified

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bad dreams

She was in her bed, but something felt different. It was... warm, not just in temperature, but in... was it feeling? She looked around, everything looked familiar apart from some unknown clothes on a chair. She suddenly felt something move against her body, she glanced under the covers, seeing her naked body and a head of raven-black hair resting on her chest. The head stirred, and tilted to face her, crimson eyes looking into hers. 

“Good morning darling.”

Maki screamed.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed your time reading. More chapters are to come.
> 
> If you have any comments or tips on how to improve my technique, do not hesitate to leave a comment below.


End file.
